Kori Ellis
02-10-2007, 12:33 AM
Magic dunk thwarts Spurs: Howard's catch-and-slam with .2 left lifts Orlando
Web Posted: 02/09/2007 10:38 PM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA021007.01C.BKNspurs.magic.gamer.1bc21ec.html
ORLANDO, Fla. — In the past few days, Gregg Popovich has said he thinks the Spurs have started to "turn the corner." If that's true, they did so only to run into the oversized chest of Orlando center Dwight Howard on Friday.
Howard flushed a vicious dunk over Tim Duncan off an inbounds pass with .2 seconds left as the Magic rallied from a 18-point deficit to beat the Spurs 106-104 at Amway Arena.
"Dwight Howard had to go up and touch the clouds over Timmy and get it one-handed and put it in," Brent Barry said. "It was a remarkable play and that was the one play that made the difference."
Howard scored 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting.
Duncan had 24 points, 16 rebounds and six assists and Barry and Michael Finley combined for 39 points, but it wasn't enough to counter Orlando's tandem of Howard and point guard Jameer Nelson.
Nelson scored 24 of his 31 points in the second half.
"Jameer got them back in the game," Popovich said, "and got hotter than a firecracker."
After the Magic pulled within a point late in the fourth quarter, Finley drilled a 3-pointer. After blocking Bo Outlaw's shot near the basket, Finley made an 18-footer from the baseline to extend the Spurs' lead to 101-95 with 2:44 left.
That, however, wasn't enough to put the Magic away. After Duncan was stripped of the ball, J.J. Redick drove for a fast-break layup while drawing a foul from Manu Ginobili.
Redick made the free throw to complete the three-point play and cut the Spurs' lead to 103-102 with 46.9 seconds left.
Bruce Bowen missed a pair of free throws with 27.9 seconds left. But Duncan batted the rebound out to Bowen, who quickly shoveled the ball to Parker, who was intentionally fouled.
Parker missed his first free throw, but made the second to give the Spurs a 104-102 advantage with 24.5 seconds left. After a timeout, Nelson, isolated on Parker above the key, dribbled the clock down before driving into the lane and hitting a 13-foot pull-up to tie the game with 5.9 seconds left.
After a timeout, Parker tried to answer, but his off-balance shot was easily swatted away by Howard. Nelson grabbed the rebound and called timeout with .8 seconds left.
"The play was for Manu, but they defended it pretty well, so we were unable to get him the ball," Finley said. "Tony was the next option and he was to make a play for himself or a teammate, and Dwight made a great defensive play."
Much like they did two nights earlier against the Washington Wizards, the Spurs quickly put the Magic on their heels. Barry got a dunk and a pair of layups on three fast-break opportunities and added a 3-pointer in the first 41/2 minutes.
The Spurs led by as many 12 in the first quarter, then watched their lead grow to 44-26 midway through the second quarter.
Unlike the Wizards, however, the Magic refused to go quietly. Howard took advantage of Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto inside while Redick, a rookie guard who hadn't been playing much until recently, kept Orlando within striking distance by scoring 13 points in the first half.
The Spurs were facing another wounded opponent.
Orlando was missing two starters — guard Grant Hill and center Tony Battie, and two of its top reserves — forward Trevor Ariza and guard Keyon Dooling — all because of injuries.
After opening the season 13-4 to vault near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, the Magic have been on a steady decline in recent weeks.
They entered Friday having lost 11 of their previous 14 games.
Through it all, however, Howard has continued to develop into one of the NBA's most-feared young big men. He frequently overpowered Elson, putting him in foul trouble. The Spurs' double teams also weren't much help.
Howard went up and under Duncan for a layup to reduce the Spurs' lead to 69-63 with 5:40 left in the third quarter. Barry drilled an open 3-pointer and then fed Duncan for a layup.
After a pair of free throws by Nelson brought the Magic within three later in the quarter, Barry answered with another 3-pointer.
But while Barry was doing his best to preserve the Spurs' lead on one end of the floor, Nelson also was warming up. He scored 13 points in the third quarter and ended the period by burying a 3-pointer over Barry — after the Magic kept the possession alive with three offensive rebounds — to tie the game at 80.
"We were assuming that was their run," Barry said. "We just really had to play one solid quarter to sock it away. We still had opportunities down the end and missed some assignments and didn't get it done."
Nelson added another 3-pointers and a long jumper on consecutive possessions early in the fourth quarter to nudge Orlando to an 85-84 lead.
"We can't throw the season in right now," Finley said. "We have to look at the positives and try to build upon them and look at the negatives as well and try and eliminate them. That's the first step in turning this thing around."
Web Posted: 02/09/2007 10:38 PM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA021007.01C.BKNspurs.magic.gamer.1bc21ec.html
ORLANDO, Fla. — In the past few days, Gregg Popovich has said he thinks the Spurs have started to "turn the corner." If that's true, they did so only to run into the oversized chest of Orlando center Dwight Howard on Friday.
Howard flushed a vicious dunk over Tim Duncan off an inbounds pass with .2 seconds left as the Magic rallied from a 18-point deficit to beat the Spurs 106-104 at Amway Arena.
"Dwight Howard had to go up and touch the clouds over Timmy and get it one-handed and put it in," Brent Barry said. "It was a remarkable play and that was the one play that made the difference."
Howard scored 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting.
Duncan had 24 points, 16 rebounds and six assists and Barry and Michael Finley combined for 39 points, but it wasn't enough to counter Orlando's tandem of Howard and point guard Jameer Nelson.
Nelson scored 24 of his 31 points in the second half.
"Jameer got them back in the game," Popovich said, "and got hotter than a firecracker."
After the Magic pulled within a point late in the fourth quarter, Finley drilled a 3-pointer. After blocking Bo Outlaw's shot near the basket, Finley made an 18-footer from the baseline to extend the Spurs' lead to 101-95 with 2:44 left.
That, however, wasn't enough to put the Magic away. After Duncan was stripped of the ball, J.J. Redick drove for a fast-break layup while drawing a foul from Manu Ginobili.
Redick made the free throw to complete the three-point play and cut the Spurs' lead to 103-102 with 46.9 seconds left.
Bruce Bowen missed a pair of free throws with 27.9 seconds left. But Duncan batted the rebound out to Bowen, who quickly shoveled the ball to Parker, who was intentionally fouled.
Parker missed his first free throw, but made the second to give the Spurs a 104-102 advantage with 24.5 seconds left. After a timeout, Nelson, isolated on Parker above the key, dribbled the clock down before driving into the lane and hitting a 13-foot pull-up to tie the game with 5.9 seconds left.
After a timeout, Parker tried to answer, but his off-balance shot was easily swatted away by Howard. Nelson grabbed the rebound and called timeout with .8 seconds left.
"The play was for Manu, but they defended it pretty well, so we were unable to get him the ball," Finley said. "Tony was the next option and he was to make a play for himself or a teammate, and Dwight made a great defensive play."
Much like they did two nights earlier against the Washington Wizards, the Spurs quickly put the Magic on their heels. Barry got a dunk and a pair of layups on three fast-break opportunities and added a 3-pointer in the first 41/2 minutes.
The Spurs led by as many 12 in the first quarter, then watched their lead grow to 44-26 midway through the second quarter.
Unlike the Wizards, however, the Magic refused to go quietly. Howard took advantage of Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto inside while Redick, a rookie guard who hadn't been playing much until recently, kept Orlando within striking distance by scoring 13 points in the first half.
The Spurs were facing another wounded opponent.
Orlando was missing two starters — guard Grant Hill and center Tony Battie, and two of its top reserves — forward Trevor Ariza and guard Keyon Dooling — all because of injuries.
After opening the season 13-4 to vault near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, the Magic have been on a steady decline in recent weeks.
They entered Friday having lost 11 of their previous 14 games.
Through it all, however, Howard has continued to develop into one of the NBA's most-feared young big men. He frequently overpowered Elson, putting him in foul trouble. The Spurs' double teams also weren't much help.
Howard went up and under Duncan for a layup to reduce the Spurs' lead to 69-63 with 5:40 left in the third quarter. Barry drilled an open 3-pointer and then fed Duncan for a layup.
After a pair of free throws by Nelson brought the Magic within three later in the quarter, Barry answered with another 3-pointer.
But while Barry was doing his best to preserve the Spurs' lead on one end of the floor, Nelson also was warming up. He scored 13 points in the third quarter and ended the period by burying a 3-pointer over Barry — after the Magic kept the possession alive with three offensive rebounds — to tie the game at 80.
"We were assuming that was their run," Barry said. "We just really had to play one solid quarter to sock it away. We still had opportunities down the end and missed some assignments and didn't get it done."
Nelson added another 3-pointers and a long jumper on consecutive possessions early in the fourth quarter to nudge Orlando to an 85-84 lead.
"We can't throw the season in right now," Finley said. "We have to look at the positives and try to build upon them and look at the negatives as well and try and eliminate them. That's the first step in turning this thing around."